House Bill 385

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT AN ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL AND
CERTAIN APPOINTED PUBLIC OFFICIALS MAY NOT QUALIFY AS A CANDIDATE FOR ANOTHER
ELECTIVE PUBLIC OFFICE UNLESS HE RESIGNS FROM THE OFFICE THAT HE CURRENTLY
HOLDS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION
1. A person who holds an
elective public office, whether state, county, district or municipal, or an
appointed office for a definite term, whether state, county, district or
municipal may not qualify as a candidate for a different elective public
office, unless he resigns from the office that he holds not later than the
earlier of (a) the date on which he would otherwise qualify for the other
office that he intends to seek; or (b) the date he accepts or consents to the
acceptance by another person of a contribution, as defined in Section 23-15-801,
to be used for his benefit in seeking election to the different office. The resignation shall be executed by the
official in writing, irrevocably resigning from the office that he holds, and
shall be directed and presented to: the
Governor, in the case of a state or multicounty district official; to the
county board of supervisors, in the case of a county official; to the municipal
governing authority, in the case of a municipal official; and to the Lieutenant
Governor, in the case where the Governor resigns. Any resignation shall create a vacancy in the office, and the
vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided by law.

SECTION
2. The Attorney General of the
State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the
Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the
Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION
3. This act shall take effect and
be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.